Equity investors lose additional N66billion

Investors in Nigeria’s equity market lost additional N66billion yesterday as more stock buyers remained on the sideline at the nation’s bourse.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) which tracks the performance of the local bourse dropped from a preceding day high of 30,807.54 points to 30,614.81 points at the close of deals yesterday, a decline of about 192.73 points or 0.63%.

The value of listed equities dipped from N10.559trillion to N10.493trillion as equity dealers exchanged 536,827,582 units valued at N4.911billion in 3,458 deals.

Seven-Up Bottling Company plc led the losers table after its share price added N3.1, from N185.1 to N182, adding N3.1; Guinness Nigeria plc rose from N141.5 to N138.6, adding N2.9; GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria plc dipped from N43.5 to N42, losing N1.5; Flour Mills Nigeria plc declined from N28.99 to N28, losing N0.99; while Oando plc lost N0.6, from N13.56 to N12.96.

Total Nigeria plc led the gainers table of 13 against 29 losers after its share price rose by N1 from N162 to N163; followed by Forte Oil plc which added N0.5, from N184 to N184.5.

Also, Nigerian Breweries plc rose by N0.22, from N122.8 to N123.02; UAC of Nigeria plc rallied from N41.4 to N41.5, adding N0.1; while National Salt Company of Nigeria plc added N0.08, from N6.62 to N6.7.

Oando plc, Access Bank plc, Chams plc, Zenith Bank plc, and Fidson Healthcare plc were the most actively traded stocks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

The global oil benchmark was on track Tuesday to settle at its lowest price since January on concerns about the persistent global glut of crude.

Both Brent (the global benchmark) and the U.S. oil benchmark recently entered bear markets— defined as a 20% drop from a recent high—on investor worries that the markets would remain oversupplied through the end of the year.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery recently traded flat at $47.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after falling to as low as $46.68 a barrel in over- night trading.

Brent fell 58 cents, or 1.1%, to $52.89 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, on track to settle at a six- month low.

BP, one of the world’s biggest oil companies, announced a second- quarter replacement cost loss of $6.3 billion Tuesday, and warned that low oil prices are here to stay.